CHAPTER 61

The book in my hands was nothing more than a meaningless prop. My eyes skimmed over the words on the page, but they were just shapes, nothing sticking, no meaning sinking in. I let out a heavy sigh, reaching down to scratch behind one of my cat's ears. She purred contentedly in my lap, utterly unaffected by the storm raging in my mind. Her brother curled around my feet, as indifferent as she was to my restless thoughts.

But my thoughts weren't just restless—they were haunted.

The Lycan King's words still echoed in my mind: You're mine.

I shivered at the memory, my fingers trailing against the cool, unyielding metal of the collar around my neck. Its edges were smooth but felt sharp, biting in their own way, as if the thing was alive and taunting me.

A collar.

Not a necklace. Not a bracelet. A collar.